On Monday, July 13, event organizers and the City of Chicago announced the decision to cancel the 2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon and all race weekend activities. This is in response to the ongoing public health concerns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Chicago Marathon had been rescheduled to October 11th. Its cancellation for this year follows similar cancellations for other high-profile marathons, such as Boston and New York.
This means that, in 2020, the Abbott World Marathon Majors will not have a race hosted in the United States.
Abbott World Marathon Majors
In early March, the 2020 Tokyo Marathon did go ahead, but only for marathon elites and wheelchair elite athletes. With the exception of the London Marathon, all other events forming part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors in 2020 have now been cancelled.
The organising team at the BMW Berlin-Marathon, originally rescheduled to September 27th, recently confirmed the cancellation of this year’s event.
The Virgin Money London Marathon, rescheduled to Sunday, October 4th, does still remain open. In a statement issued in June, Hugh Brasher, Event Director at the Virgin Money London Marathon said, “While some may think what we are trying to do on Sunday 4 October is impossible, we will not give up hope.
“The 40th race should be a day that shows the best of humanity. A togetherness, a joy and a celebration of everything we treasure. I look forward to that day.”
Having thanked runners for their patience and understanding, the London event organising team confirmed that it will be in touch again on July 28 with further details.
Chicago Marathon – refunds or deferred entries
Each registered Chicago Marathon participant will have the option to receive a refund for their 2020 race entry or to defer their place and entry fee to a future edition of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon (2021, 2022 or 2023).
2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon registered participants will be contacted via email with additional information and the opportunity to select one of the following options…
Entry refund
All registered participants for the 2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will be eligible to select a refund for their 2020 race entry. Due to the complexities of cancelling the event and the anticipated quantity of refunds, the organisers expect the refund process to take several weeks or months. Participants who select this opportunity will be notified via email when the refund process has started.
(Participants who received a complimentary entry for the 2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will also have the opportunity to select a refund. In this instance, the refund will be issued to the organization who provided/paid for the complimentary entry and not the individual.)
2021, 2022 or 2023 deferment (place and entry fee)
All registered participants for the 2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will be eligible to defer their place and entry fee to a future event (2021, 2022 or 2023).
Participants who select this option will be required to claim their entry during the 2021, 2022 or 2023 event application window. An email will be sent to eligible participants when the application window is open. The email will include instructions on how to claim their complimentary guaranteed entry.
(Participants who registered through the 2020 Charity and International Tour Group Programs also have the opportunity to defer their entry to a future event. If and when a runner selects this option, they are required to participate with the organization or team they committed to participating with for the 2020 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.)
www.chicagomarathon.com
www.worldmarathonmajors.com
